I Merely Do My Duty
by Embraced Stupidity
Summary: Marcus. A knight of Pherae and a skilled veteran. Many knew of him and many feared him. But could he take on one of the Four Fangs by himself?


Heyhey! Embraced Stupidity here. This is my first ever fanfic, and it's a submission for Lemurian-Girl's fanfic challenge. I doubt it'll win, but I had no ideas for a fanfic so I decided to enter. Hope you enjoy, and please review.

Oh, and I don't own Fire Emblem.

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**I Merely Do My Duty**

"Attack! For Mad Dog Linus!" A Black Fang member shouted, raising their axe above their head before charging towards the oncoming enemies. "Show them no mercy! Kill!"

This act caused the rest of the Black Fang that surrounded the Shrine of Seals to let out a battle cry in unison, and follow after. All had a fire of vengeance burning in their eyes, and the group that were about to feel their wrath could tell they were prepared to die if it meant Lloyd got his revenge. The loyalty was powerful indeed, and could easily strike fear into any normal man.

But this group wasn't really made of normal men, or women, for that matter. Though they could be considered ragtag and perhaps even strange, the army led by Eliwood was also a force to be reckoned with, and would not go down easily. The three lords that commanded the small legion let out a cry of their own and charged forward to meet the enemy, which was enough to cause the others to follow. Two forces collided, and the result was an explosion of battle.

As the battle went on, a certain redheaded lord was becoming overwhelmed by the Black Fang, as he was a particularly despised target, believed by all to be the one who brought death to Linus. A single bandit leapt above Eliwood, ready to deliver the killing blow, when a sudden flash of steel shot out to impale the man. Eliwood turned to find that a purple-haired paladin was his saviour, who swiftly proceeded to fend off some of the remaining assailants.

"Marcus! You saved my life. Thank you," shouted the Pheraen redhead, his voice difficult to hear through the clashing of metal and cries of pain.

"No need for thanks, Lord Eliwood. Just doing my duty," was the rather simple response, and the veteran turned to check that the young lord wasn't injured. "You are not hurt? You will be able to continue fighting?"

"Yes, I am fine, Marcus, thanks to you," replied Eliwood, clutching his rapier tightly and nodding to reinforce his statement.

The retainer simply nodded, and rode further from the battle scene before going into a full speed gallop towards the Shrine of Seals. Their group was too small and would be slaughtered if the battle went on for too long. So Marcus reasoned that if he took out the White Wolf, the Black Fang under his command would be considerably easier to defeat.

"Oh…what have we here?" muttered Lloyd, who watched from his throne in the Shrine as Marcus rode up the steps. "The fool is riding out alone to challenge me? Very well. You there! Paladin! Prepare yourself for a taste of what the Four Fangs can do! For my brother…I vow to destroy you!"

With that, the man stood up from the throne and clutched the hilt of his light brand, and shot forward like lightning. Marcus was caught by surprise, and before he knew what was happening, a beam of magic struck him in the chest and knocked him off of his mount.

"What? Magic?" he cried, picking up his lance and getting onto his feet. The horse had gone a bit wild after the sudden attack and so Marcus found that he would have to fight on foot. Already he was at a disadvantage.

"The light brand. It's a special sword that is infused with magic. I can attack you from both long and short distances. Your advantage of having a lance won't save you in this fight," explained Lloyd coolly, standing in front of Marcus and taking a battle stance, seemingly ready to attack.

"Whelp!" was the simple retort, and Marcus thrust his lance forward, though the force behind the attack meant he moved far too slowly.

This gave Lloyd enough time to easily dodge the attack with a step to the side, and he then aimed a slash at the paladin. Marcus was easily hit and stumbled back, his armour protecting him from a potentially fatal blow though the impact was still quite damaging. Lloyd jumped up and kicked the veteran, which was just enough to send him tumbling down the hard, stone steps that led up to the Shrine.

With each thud Marcus visibly winced and by the time he reached the grassy floor below his armour was severely weakened. Lloyd noted this, and leapt into the air, positioning his sword between his legs so that it would be the first thing to land. He dropped at a great speed, and Marcus was about to be impaled.

"General Marcus! No!" The voice of Lowen sounded from afar, and in the distance the apprentice could be seen rushing to the scene, his horse moving as fast as it could, though it was quite clear that he wouldn't make it in time.

The sound of armour and flesh being pierced could be heard, and the loud, male cry of pain caused the fighting to come to a stop. All turned to look at the Shrine, and members of both groups paled slightly.

At the bottom of the steps, a sword was embedded into Marcus's chest. Above him, sprawled out on the stone, was Lloyd, a javelin sticking out of his neck. And a short distance away from the scene, Lowen sat on his horse with his arm outstretched, frozen in place.

"They got the White Wolf! Everyone! Retreat!" shouted one of the Fangs, and the group quickly fled the battlefield. The army was too injured or shocked to give chase.

"Lowen! Lowen!" cried Eliwood, who sprinted at full speed over to the cavalier. Looking up to the mounted knight, he could see the state of shock he was in even though his eyes were hidden beneath a mess of hair. "Well done, Lowen…you got him. We've won."

"Too…too slow…I was too slow…" stuttered Lowen, who let his arm down and stared at the body of the fallen general. He quickly dismounted and ran over to the body, sinking to his knees when he got there and weeping.

The wounded paladin suddenly broke into a coughing fit, blood spluttering from his mouth and his eyes flickering open. "Ah…Lowen…is that you?" he said, each word a struggle to get out.

"G-General! General Marcus! You're alive!" the green-haired cavalier exclaimed, a hopeful smile forming on his lips. He turned back to face Eliwood and called him. "Lord Eliwood! He's alive! Lord Marcus is alive!"

"No, Lowen, stop…I'm done for," wheezed Marcus, coughing up some more blood. "But…don't mourn…be strong…for the army…keep going…"

"No! Sir, I can't carry on without you! Who will train me? Who will push me until I cannot even stand? Who will—"

"You…don't need me anymore, son…you've become a fine knight. It's…up to you to…take care of Lord Eliwood now…remember to—...ugh…aaagh!" The rest couldn't be said as Marcus broke into another, much worse fit of coughing and spluttering.

"N-no! General Marcus! You can't!"

And at that moment, Marcus's duty to Pherae ended permanently.

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Well, what did you think? I am aware that Marcus is alive in FE6 and therefore cannot die in FE7. So, uh...sorry if that annoys you. But I still hope you can enjoy this. Please review! 


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